Ferment for Good is a guide to discovering the joys of fermentation in its myriad variations - framed through the eyes of Sharon Flynn, who was hooked early in her 20s and has since made it her life's work to learn and share all there is to know about this most ancient of practices.

Ferment for Good includes a how-to guide to the basics (why do it; what you need; and what you'll get), alongside sections on wild fermented vegetables (including sauerkraut, kimchi, brine); drinks (including water kefir, kombucha and apple cider); milk and dairy (including yogurt and milk kefir), grains (simple sourdough, dosa and injera); and Japanese traditions (including miso & tamari, soy sauce, sake kasu and pickled ginger). Sharon then shares recipes and advice for incorporating these foods into every meal. These include nine variations on kraut and how to eat it (mixed through mashed potatoes, tossed through scrambled eggs, accompanying pork chops or on the side of a soft fish taco). And let's not forget about kimchi. The book contains six variations, plus a handful of recipes that incorporate it (from kimchi gyoza to Korean pancakes to kimchi fried rice).

Ferment for Good is a beautiful, personal collection to introduce you into the fermentation world - complete with photographs of selected dishes and Manga-style cartoons that channel the author's connection to Japan and offer graphic, often entertaining short tales of her adventures in fermenting.

Author description

Australian-born Sharon Flynn was living in Tokyo, teaching English at a university, more than two decades ago when she first learned about fermenting. An elderly Japanese neighbour and her family introduced Sharon to the joys of miso, tofu and eventually fermented vegetables. Many city moves later - she married a financier who moved with work regularly - Sharon found herself in Seattle. That's where she really caught the fermenting bug. She belonged to a Community Supported Agricultural Scheme and received so many little cucumbers that she recalls she had to learn to pickle! She moved on to cheese, yoghurt and bread - and was truly hooked after meeting the man regarded as the master of fermentation in the US, Sandor Katz. In the background here, her third daughter became quite ill. By this time the family had moved to Brussels and she found that antibiotics had left her daughter's system devoid of essential bacteria. Sharon says she read up more and more on fermenting - every culture has a version of some sort - and her daughter eventually regained her zest and good health. Fast forward a few years and Sharon found herself in Melbourne, this time sans her husband, with her three daughters. She learnt to make kefir, made her own ferments and started sharing these with friends. She tried to teach her friends, but quickly discovered that what they really wanted was for her to make it for them! So began her little business, The Fermentary. Her products quickly won a following, alongside acclaim in the restaurant world. Now, with new partner chef Roger Fowler, her business is not so little; they sell both wholesale to leading Sydney and Melbourne restaurants and retailers, as well as direct to their customers at farmers' markets. As well, Sharon conducts regular workshops in Victoria and beyond. Sharon was also fortunate enough to spend a fortnight in late 2015 undertaking an intensive, advanced fermenting workshop with Sandor Katz (described by The New York Times as one of the unlikely rock stars of the American food scene) at his home in Cannon County, Tennessee.